Many websites use "persistent cookie" technology. A persistent cookie is a small text file that this website places on your web browser so that it can gather anonymous summary demographic information, and remember your browser when it is used to visit our site again later—kind of like cookie crumbs! (Hence the name.) These cookies uniquely identify a browser on a computer, but never a person. In other words, if the same person uses Chrome and Internet Explorer, two unique browser coolies will be assigned, one for each browser, so that person well be counted as two different visitors because visits are based on browsers, not computers or persons. Most Internet browsers automatically accept persistent cookies. Although using persistent cookies creates a much better experience for you while using the site, most sites will also work without them. If you don't want to accept cookies, you can edit your browser's options to stop accepting persistent cookies or to prompt you before accepting a cookie from the websites you visit. Below you'll find directions to help you disable cookies in some of the most popular desktop browsers and mobile browsers.
Important: If you choose to set your browser to reject cookies from every website you visit, this may adversely affect the functionality of non-government websites you visit.
Many sites also use Google Demographic and Interest reports to gather anonymous summary demographic information about website visitors such as gender, age range, and areas of interest for adults over the age of 18. You can prevent your data from being collected and used by Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
Many sites use AddThis to enable easy content sharing. AddThis collects non-personally identifiable information, and uses the information to deliver targeted advertising and personalized content. You can prevent your data from being collected and used by AddThis, by opting-out of AddThis targeted advertising.
The Office of Management and Budget released guidance in June 2010, updating how Federal agencies can use web measurement and customization technologies (PDF, Download Adobe Reader), such as persistent cookies.
USA.gov is providing a central place to provide instructions for "opting-out" from one of the most common forms of web measurement and customization technologies, through disabling cookies on your web browser. We also provide instructions on opting out of Google Analytics.
